Daily US Times: Mexico’s state oil company Pemex said a blaze on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico resembling a large “eye of fire” has been brought under control. The oil company said gas leak was behind the fire.
Orange flames resembling molten lava were pictured and went viral on social media and dubbed an “eye of fire” on social media because of the blaze’s circular shape, as it raged a short distance from a Pemex oil platform.
Pemex, which has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities, said in a statement that the fire happened at 5:15 a.m. local time off the coast of Campeche. The company blamed on a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for the fire.
The fire was put out by 10:45 a.m. local time, and no injuries or evacuations of the facility have been reported.
An investigation has been launched into the incident, Pemex said.
Angel Carrizales, head of Mexico’s oil safety regulator ASEA, tweeted that the incident “did not generate any spill,” but did not explain what was burning on the water’s surface.
Pemex said it would investigate the cause of the fire and said it shut the valves of the 12-inch-diameter pipeline. It added it also shut the valves of the 12-inch-diameter pipeline.
Company workers used nitrogen to control the fire and details from the incident report were not mentioned in Pemex’s brief press statement and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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